<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>run away together, spend some time forever by manchestereye (orphan_account)</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22613353">run away together, spend some time forever</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/manchestereye'>manchestereye (orphan_account)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Phandom Reverse Bang, the sun is also a star</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 18:08:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,097</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22613353</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/manchestereye</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>dan howell, and his unexpected whirlwind romance with an angel of a human being. the only catch is that he's about to get deported...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dan Howell/Phil Lester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>run away together, spend some time forever</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>yes the title is from a weezer song i could not resist</p><p>hi again! this is my third and final fic for the phandom reverse bang winter 2019 event! thanks to them for hosting such a wonderful event and for adding me as an admin (...surprise?)</p><p>ngl this one wasn't my best but i genuinely enjoyed the concept :3<br/>beta'ed by the lovely <a href="https://i-might-just-leave-soon.tumblr.com">eilidh</a> and art by the wonderful <a href="https://artlessdynamite.tumblr.com">mariana</a> (will link when posted!)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>the moment that dan drops out of university, he’s no longer allowed to be in america because of his visa. he doesn’t want to go back home to england though, it would be too humiliating to face his family, but he has no choice. immigrations office told him to get out as soon as possible before something bad happens. maybe he should’ve thought about this before dropping out of school, but his law course was too difficult and it bored dan to no end.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>worst of all, he hasn’t started packing yet. he’s been stressed to no end trying to scrape up the money for a flight home and filling out paperwork to drop all of his current classes and terminating all of his subscription services plus bank account. he’s barely had a minute to breathe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan takes an uber to his favorite coffee shop, as he’s too stressed to focus on trying to pack right now, and because he needs the caffeine. he didn’t sleep well last night. he sits there and wastes time on his laptop until it runs out of his battery before leaving.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>as he exits the coffee shop, he runs straight into someone else, causing both of them to fall over. dan falls on his wrist, but not hard enough to fracture or break. it still hurts though, and as he’s rubbing his wrist, the person he crashed into holds their hand out for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan takes it, and stands up to meet them face to face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“are you alright?” they ask.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan just nods. “i’m fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“well, good, i’m glad. hey, you’re kinda cute,” they say. “my name’s phil.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“no offense, but i think i know where this is going, and i don’t really have time to hang out with you today,” dan says, panicked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>phil looks a little bit disappointed but he accepts his answer. “alright. can i at least take you to wherever you’re headed? you look stressed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan contemplates it for a minute. waiting another twenty minutes for an uber does not sound very appealing to him or his wallet. even if this guy is trying to be nice, he still sounds kind of persistent. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>he might as well take him up on his offer even if it’s going to kill him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“fine,” dan sighs. “drive me to stanford. i need to pack my things.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>phil laughs. “that’s where i’m supposed to go tomorrow for my interview.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“what do you have an interview for?” dan asks, curiously. he doesn’t mean to ask that at first, but he can’t stop himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>phil’s kind of cute, despite dan’s attempts to not be charmed by him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“i have an opportunity to study and research medicine here at stanford,” phil explains. “i’m not really looking forward to it, though. medicine isn’t really my thing, even though i did exceptional in my clinical health sciences degree.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>if it were any other person, dan would be annoyed when they talk about themselves. with phil, it’s...different. dan wants to know more about phil and his life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>it’s hasn’t even been ten minutes and dan is already smitten.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“do you want me to help you pack your things?” phil asks later when they pull up to the stanford main entrance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan looks at him with narrowed eyes. “okay, mate, i don’t know what the hell you’re doing, but you’re starting to creep me out again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>phil looks at him with confusion until realisation dawns on him. “oh. i promise i’m not trying to harm you. i just wanted to help out any way i can...which is sometimes not the best idea when we’ve just met half an hour ago, huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan doesn’t say anything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“well, i’ll leave you here,” phil says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>in that moment, dan changes his mind. he </span>
  <em>
    <span>wants</span>
  </em>
  <span> phil to help him out, because he knows he won’t see phil ever again if they leave each other now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“wait, stay with me,” dan blurts out. “please help me pack up my things.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>phil turns around to head to the parking lot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan underestimated exactly how much stuff he brought with him to university, as a few hours have passed and they still haven’t finished packing. they talk while they’re packing, mainly stories about the things that dan brought with him, like that one my chemical romance poster, and all of his slipknot cds from when he was fourteen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“did you even need all of this?” phil asks him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan shakes his head. “no. i got paranoid and ended up overpacking.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>phil laughs. “ah, i was the same way when i started university a few years ago.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“how old are you if you’re already starting grad school?” dan asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“twenty one,” phil says. “...i may or may not have graduated early.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan laughs. “you’re really smart then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“i’m sure you’re smart too,” phil says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan just shakes his head. “not for university apparently.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“and that’s completely okay,” phil reassures him. “university isn’t for everyone. unfortunately, you had to learn it the hard way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“the extremely hard way too,” dan laughs once again. “can you believe i traveled all the way here only to find that university is a pain in the ass?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>phil laughs with him. “i get how you feel, and if it makes you feel better, i almost dropped out my first year too. i didn’t because i was scared of what would happen, but you knew that this was the choice you had to make for yourself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>phil is honestly the first person in his life who hasn’t judged him for his decisions, and it’s comforting that he’s not the only one who’s had to deal with this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>sure, dan’s probably way in over his head when it comes to this, but he’s just so relieved that phil isn’t telling him that he’s made a mistake or that he’s going to regret it in the future.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“where have you been my whole life?” dan mutters under his breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan’s pretty sure that he’s dreaming, that phil might not entirely be real, but he’s sure that in another lifetime they would’ve been extremely great friends and maybe even more than that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“hm?” phil asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan waves him off. “it’s nothing, don’t worry. thanks though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>phil accepts that answer and continues packing the boxes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>when they’re done, both of them collapse onto the couch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“how did you unpack all of this last time?” phil asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan just shrugs. “i lived in this dorm for a year and a half, how should i know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“are you gonna be alright? how long do you have to get out?” phil says worriedly. “what are you going to do with these boxes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan shrugs. “i kinda have to get out of here sooner rather than later if i ever want to come back, but my flight is tomorrow at 2. and i’m going to ship them back home so that they’ll get to england or whatever.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>phil pouts. “for what it’s worth, today was great, even if we did just pack four large boxes. i don’t really get along with people, but somehow you still gave me a chance, so thanks. i wish we could just...freeze so that we’d have more time to talk and get to know to each other.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan wishes he could stay, but there’s nothing he can do at this point. he never expected to meet someone as nice or as perfect as him; all he wants is more time with phil.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“can i kiss you?” dan asks, but puts a hand to his mouth when he realises exactly what he’d asked. “sorry, i don’t know why i asked that. you’re actually really cute though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>phil flushes. “i’m...um...okay. but i wouldn’t mind kissing you either.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>they lean towards each other and kiss softly. phil’s honestly one of the best kissers dan’s ever encountered. it doesn’t take long before they start kissing further.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>when they break apart, dan starts crying a little bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“hey, what’s wrong?” phil asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan wipes the tears. “i’m not crying, you’re crying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>phil rubs dan’s back. “is this okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan nods.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“i didn’t expect to meet you,” dan says quietly. “and now i have to leave.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“it’s gonna suck for both of us,” phil admits. “but if we’re meant to meet each other again, we’ll meet again, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan nods. he buries his head in phil’s chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“stay with me,” dan says. “stay with me until i have to leave for my flight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“okay. i will.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>they end up falling asleep on each other not long after that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“are you going to take the opportunity?” dan asks shortly after they wake up the next morning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>phil gently grabs dan’s hand. “i don’t know. i’ve always been scared of what would happen if i don’t do whatever’s expected of me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“you sound like you do know,” dan points out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>phil sighs. “i could go either way, but i should at least go and make sure. i’m sure my mother will throw a fit if i don’t go to the interview.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan hums and accepts that answer. “i hope that plan works for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“me too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>neither of them want to leave, but they know they have to get up and face the day, no matter how hard that may be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>eventually, they get ready and rush to phil’s interview.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“good luck,” dan says, giving him a hug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“thanks,” phil whispers before heading off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan anxiously sits in the lobby until phil comes out in what seems like hours later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“so?” dan asks, impatiently. “what happened?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“i turned it down,” phil says. “i’m doing a graduate program in psychology instead. it doesn’t require an associated major or whatever, and it gives me a chance to help people.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan hugs phil really tightly. “congrats. i’m excited for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>phil beams, and hugs dan tighter. “yeah, me too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>they stand outside the terminal gate for what seems like ages, holding each other. dan knows it’s not the end of the world, that they can still talk to each other even throughout the distance, but he still feels heartbroken at the thought of leaving phil, even if they </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>moving a little bit fast.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>they’ll get through it though, dan has a gut feeling that they will.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>as the announcement for dan’s flight is called, phil kisses him softly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“you’re going to do amazing things,” phil says. “i just know it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“take care in england, alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan nods. “yeah, i will.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>they’re stood there until the flight attendant gets on the intercom for the last call.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“see you later, phil.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>phil smiles at him softly. “see you later, dan.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>nearly six years later, phil’s stood outside the same terminal, but instead of dan leaving, he’s coming back..</span>
</p><p>
  <span>the past six years were rough and difficult for both of them, and there’s been many late nights and trip planning, but somehow, they were able to make it work. almost a year ago, phil flew all the way to england and proposed to dan on the four year anniversary of when they met.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>after going back to england, dan ended up taking a gap year from university until he found his calling in political science and philosophy. there wasn’t really a specific moment that he knew that politics would be the “perfect” major for him, but he started noticing how important and involved he was in activism, and how it would greatly benefit him if he chose this major. phil supported him every step of the way, and even flew in for his graduation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>the visa process was difficult and phil’s threatened to pull his hair out more than once, but eventually they accepted dan’s fiance visa petition and now he can move to america. neither of them have to worry about crossing the atlantic ocean just to see each other anymore, or worry about dysfunctional sleep schedules just to coordinate timezones and weekly phone calls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>neither of them know how they survived the past six years, but they’re together now, and it’s what counts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>as dan gets out, they rush towards each other, bumping into a few people along the way, although neither of them care. they wrap their arms around each other, and dan starts crying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“welcome home,” phil says softly, and he can feel tears start streaming down his face as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>dan kisses him once before pulling away. he intertwined his hand with phil’s, and neither of them can keep the smile off their face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>they’ve broken the distance, and that’s enough to make both of them happy.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you for reading !!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>